Legal

Jury Misconduct. Michelle Fleshner worked for Pepose Vision Institute (PVI), a surgical practice. She was fired after she provided information to the U.S. Department of Labor about PVI’s overtime pay policy. She sued for wrongful termination, and the jury awarded her $125,000 after the trial, a juror told PVI’s attorneys that another juror had made anti-semitic statements during jury deliberations. The comments concerned a witness who testified on PVI’s behalf. According to the juror, the other juror said, about the witness: “she is a Jewish witch.” “she is a penny-pinching Jew.” “she was such a cheap Jew that she did not want to pay Plaintiff unemployment compensation.” Another juror confirmed the remarks. PVI filed a motion for a new trial on the basis of juror misconduct. The trial judge held that the comments had not prevented a fair trail from occurring. PVI appealed.

Do you think such comments are sufficient to require a new trial, or must juror’s bias be discovered during voir dire for it to matter? Explain (see the trial).

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